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July 1, 2013

Drug imports OK'd by new law

Mainers will again be allowed to buy mail-order prescription drugs from certain foreign countries, where drugs are often cheaper. But whether the state will restart its contract with the Canadian-based mail-order pharmacy CanaRx remains unclear, according to The Associated Press.

The news service reported a new law passed this session reverses an opinion issued late last year by then-Attorney General William Schneider, who said that out-of-state mail-order pharmacies could not be licensed in Maine, a ruling that killed agreements the City of Portland, the state and one Maine employer in Guilford had to import cheaper drugs for their employees through CanaRx.

The Guilford-based Hardwood Products Co. said that before the ruling, it had saved around $10 million over several years through CanaRx.

Kenneth McCall, president of the Maine Pharmacy Association, told the AP that allowing imported prescription drugs stands to jeopardize patient safety and introduce counterfeit drugs into the state. Others have argued such importation also violates federal law.

The law allowing Mainers to import prescription drugs will take effect 90 days after close of the legislative session, expected this week.

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